History

The website was founded by Justin Sevakis in July 1998.[5] In May 2000, current CEO Christopher Macdonald joined the website editorial staff, replacing former editor-in-chief Isaac Alexander. In July 2002, Anime News Network launched its Encyclopedia, a collaborative database of anime and manga titles also including information about the staff, cast, and companies involved in the production or localization of those titles. In January 2007, ANN launched a separate version for Australian audiences.[8] On July 4, 2008, ANN launched its video platform with a library of anime trailers as well as its own news show ANNtv.

In the fall of 2004, the editorial staff at ANN became formally involved with the anime magazine Protoculture Addicts; the magazine began publishing under ANN's editorial control in January 2005.[7][11] On September 7, 2004, the Sci Fi Channel online newsletter Sci Fi Weekly named the site the Web Site of the Week.

Features

Anime News Network stories related to anime and manga that are researched by the ANN staff. Other contributors, under staff discretion, also contribute news articles.[12]

The website maintains a listing of anime and manga titles, as well as people and companies involved in the production of those titles, which it dubs an "encyclopedia".[6] The site has hosted several regular columns, including a question-and-answer column "Hey Answerman", a review column entitled "Shelf Life", a column on old and forgotten media called "Buried Treasure" written by Sevakis,[13] and a listing of claimed differences between edited and original versions of anime series titled "The Edit List".[14] Staff members of ANN also publish their own blogs hosted on the site.[15]

ANN also hosts forums,[6] and includes threads to accompany each news item for purposes of discussion. Anime News Network hosts an IRC channel on the WorldIRC network, #animenewsnetwork.

On August 7, 2017, a hacker took control of Anime News Network's domain (animenewsnetwork.com), and compromised some of the site's Twitter accounts, including the personal accounts of ANN's CEO Christopher Macdonald and Executive Editor Zac Bertschy. The site was temporarily live at animenewsnetwork.cc until the staff regained control of the original domain.[16] In an article a few days after the loss of the domain, Macdonald published the full story on how the domain was stolen.[17]

External links

Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise for Aniplex, owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, to reinforce their license business in the North American international anime market. Aniplex of America owns an online retailer called Aniplex+ and a streaming service called Aniplex Channel. Both of them are based on their website. In 2017, it was announced that Shu Nishimoto was appointed as president of the company, with former president Hideki "Henry" Goto becoming head of international business development with the Tokyo branch.

Attack on Titan (Japanese: 進撃の巨人, Hepburn: Shingeki no Kyojin, lit. "Advancing Giant") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The series began in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on September 9, 2009, and has been collected into 27 tankōbon volumes as of December 2018. It is set in a world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by enormous walls protecting the humans from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as titans.

Attack on Titan has become a critical and commercial success. As of December 2018, the manga has 88 million tankōbon copies in print worldwide (78 million in Japan and 10 million outside of Japan), making it one of the best-selling manga series. The anime adaptation has been well received by critics with the first two seasons being met with universal critical acclaim with praise for its story, animation, music, voice acting and characters, although reception for its third season has been more mixed. However the anime has proved to be extremely successful in both the US and Japan thus boosting the series' popularity. Although it also gained fame in neighbouring Asian countries, 'political' themes found within caused controversies in South Korea and China.

Black Clover (Japanese: ブラッククローバー, Hepburn: Burakku Kurōbā) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūki Tabata. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since February 16, 2015, and has been collected into 19 tankōbon volumes. The story centers around Asta, a young boy seemingly born without any magic power, something that is unknown in the world he lives in. With his fellow mages from the Black Bulls, Asta plans to become the next Wizard King.

The manga has been adapted into an original video animation produced by Xebec, which was released in 2017, as well an anime television series produced by Pierrot, which also premiered in Japan in 2017. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, while the anime series is licensed by Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Fairy Tail (Japanese: フェアリーテイル, Hepburn: Fearī Teiru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It was serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine from August 2, 2006 to July 26, 2017, with the individual chapters collected and published into 63 tankōbon volumes. The story follows the adventures of Natsu Dragneel, a member of the popular wizard guild Fairy Tail, as he searches the fictional world of Earth-land for the dragon Igneel.

The manga has been adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures, Dentsu Inc., Satelight, Bridge, and CloverWorks which began broadcasting in Japan on October 12, 2009. Additionally, A-1 Pictures has developed nine original video animations and two animated feature films. The series ended its initial run on March 30, 2013. A second series premiered on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2014, and ended on March 26, 2016. A third series of the anime series began airing on October 7, 2018, and is slated to have 51 episodes. The series has also inspired numerous spin-off manga, including a sequel storyboarded by Mashima, titled Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest, which launched on July 25, 2018.

The manga series was originally licensed for an English language release in North America by Del Rey Manga, which began releasing the individual volumes on March 25, 2008 and ended its licensing with the 12th volume release in September 2010. In December 2010, Kodansha USA took over North American release of the series. The Southeast Asian network Animax Asia aired an English-language version of the anime for seven seasons from 2010 to 2015. The manga was also licensed in the United Kingdom by Turnaround Publisher Services and in Australia by Penguin Books Australia. The anime has been licensed by Funimation for an English-language release in North America. As of February 2017, Fairy Tail had 60 million copies in print.

Gin Tama (Japanese: 銀魂, Hepburn: Gin Tama, "Silver Soul") is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Hideaki Sorachi and serialized, beginning on December 8, 2003, in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. Set in Edo which has been conquered by aliens named Amanto, the plot follows life from the point of view of samurai Gintoki Sakata, who works as a freelancer alongside his friends Shinpachi Shimura and Kagura in order to pay the monthly rent. Sorachi added the science fiction setting to develop characters to his liking after his editor suggested doing a historical series.

The series has been adapted into an original video animation (OVA) by Sunrise and was featured at Jump Festa 2006 Anime Tour in 2005. This was followed by a full anime series, which debuted on April 4, 2006, on TV Tokyo and finished on March 25, 2010. A sequel titled Gintama' first premiered in Japan on April 4, 2011 and ended on March 26, 2012, before returning once again for a brief run from October 4, 2012 to March 28, 2013. A continuation of the TV anime series titled Gintama° began airing on April 8, 2015, and ended on March 30, 2016. Two animated films have also been produced. Besides the anime series, there have been various light novels and video games based on Gin Tama. A live action film adaptation of the same name was released on July 14, 2017 in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures. A new anime series continuing after the events in the Gintama° anime series, named Gintama. premiered on January 9, 2017.

The manga has been licensed by Viz Media in North America. In addition to publishing the individual volumes of the series, Viz serialized its first chapters in their Shonen Jump manga anthology. It debuted in the January 2007 issue, and was serialized at a rate of one chapter a month. Sentai Filmworks initially licensed the series. The website Crunchyroll purchased the anime's streaming rights and home video rights.

In Japan, the Gin Tama manga has been popular, with over 55 million copies in print, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The anime and its DVDs have been featured, at various times, in Top Ten rankings of their respective media, while TV Tokyo has announced that the first Gin Tama anime was responsible for high sales overseas along with the anime adaptation from Naruto. Publications for manga, anime and others have commented on the Gin Tama manga. Positive responses have focused on the comedy and characters from the series, as well as its overarching plot and action choreography.

Hunter × Hunter (Japanese: ハンター×ハンター, Hepburn: Hantā Hantā, abbreviated: HxH) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshihiro Togashi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since March 3, 1998, although the manga has frequently gone on extended hiatuses since 2006. As of October 2018, 380 chapters have been collected into 36 volumes by Shueisha. The story focuses on a young boy named Gon Freecss, who discovers that his father, who he was told was dead, is actually alive and a world renowned Hunter, a licensed profession for those who specialize in fantastic pursuits such as locating rare or unidentified animal species, treasure hunting, surveying unexplored enclaves, or hunting down lawless individuals. Despite being abandoned by his father, Gon departs upon a journey to follow in his footsteps, pass the rigorous Hunter Examination, and eventually find his father. Along the way, Gon meets various other Hunters and also encounters the paranormal. The original inspiration for the manga came from Togashi's own collecting hobby.

In 1999, Hunter × Hunter was adapted into a 62-episode anime television series produced by Nippon Animation and directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. The show premiered on Japan's Fuji TV and ran until 2001. Three separate original video animations (OVAs) totaling 30 episodes were subsequently produced by Nippon Animation and released in Japan from 2002 to 2004. A second anime television series by Madhouse aired on Nippon Television from October 2011 to September 2014, with two animated theatrical films released in 2013. There are also numerous audio albums, video games, musicals, and other media based on Hunter × Hunter. The manga has been translated into English and released in North America by Viz Media since April 2005. Both television series were also licensed by Viz, with the first series having aired on the Funimation Channel in 2009 and the second series premiering on Adult Swim's Toonami block since April 16, 2016.

Hunter × Hunter has been a huge critical and financial success and has become one of Shueisha's best-selling manga series, having sold 66 million copies in Japan alone as of 2014.

Jump Force (Japanese: ジャンプフォース, Hepburn: Janpu Fōsu) is a crossover fighting game developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment featuring characters from various manga series featured in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump anthology in celebration of the magazine's 50th anniversary. The game was released on February 15, 2019 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the successor to J-Stars Victory VS.

Junichi Suwabe (諏訪部 順一, Suwabe Jun'ichi, born March 29, 1972) is a Japanese voice actor and singer from Tokyo. He is affiliated with Haikyō. His popular roles include Keigo Atobe in The Prince of Tennis, Victor Nikiforov in Yuri!!! on ICE, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez in Bleach, Archer in Fate/stay night, Ren Jinguji in Uta no Prince-sama, Undertaker in Black Butler, Leone Abbachio in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, Daiki Aomine in Kuroko's Basketball, Shōta Aizawa in My Hero Academia, Takashi Komuro in Highschool of the Dead and Dandy in Space Dandy.

He was nominated for a Best Singing Award at the 6th Seiyu Awards, and received a Best Supporting Actor award at the 7th Seiyu Awards.

Kana Hanazawa (花澤 香菜, Hanazawa Kana, born February 25, 1989) is a Japanese voice actress and singer represented by the Office Osawa talent agency. She is known for voice acting leading roles for a number of anime television series and other anime-related media in Japan, including Nadeko Sengoku in Monogatari, Anri Sonohara in Durarara!!, Angel / Kanade Tachibana in Angel Beats!, Kuroneko / Ruri Gokō in Oreimo, Mayuri Shiina in Steins;Gate, Akane Tsunemori in Psycho-Pass, Natsume Tsuchimikado in Tokyo Ravens, Kosaki Onodera in Nisekoi, Rize Kamishiro in Tokyo Ghoul, Hinata Kawamoto in March Comes in Like a Lion, Shirase Kobuchizawa in A Place Further than the Universe, and Raphiel Ainsworth Shiraha in Gabriel Dropout. Her debut single, "Hoshizora Destination" (星空☆ディスティネーション), was released on April 25, 2012 under the Aniplex/Sony Music Entertainment Japan label.

Monica Jean Rial (born October 5, 1975) is an American voice actress, ADR director and script writer affiliated with Funimation and Seraphim Digital/Sentai Filmworks. She provides voices for English language versions of Japanese anime films and television series.

My Hero Academia (Japanese: 僕のヒーローアカデミア, Hepburn: Boku no Hīrō Akademia) is a superhero manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since July 2014, and 20 volumes have been collected in tankōbon format. The story follows Izuku Midoriya, a boy born without superpowers (called quirks) in a world where they have become the norm, but who still dreams of becoming a hero himself. He is scouted by the world's greatest hero, who shares his quirk with Izuku after recognizing his potential, and later enrolls him in a high school for heroes in training.

The manga was adapted into an anime television series by Bones. Its first season aired in Japan from April 3 to June 26, 2016, followed by a second season from April 1 to September 30, 2017, then a third season from April 7 to September 29, 2018, and an animated film titled My Hero Academia: Two Heroes was released on August 3 of that year.The series has been licensed for English-language release by Viz Media and began serialization in their weekly digital manga anthology Weekly Shonen Jump on February 9, 2015.

One-Punch Man (Japanese: ワンパンマン, Hepburn: Wanpanman) is an ongoing Japanese superhero webcomic created by ONE which began publication in early 2009. The series quickly went viral, surpassing 7.9 million hits in June 2012. The Japanese shortened name Wanpanman is a play on the long-running children's character Anpanman, wanpan being a contraction of wanpanchi ("one punch"). One-Punch Man tells the story of Saitama, a superhero who has grown bored by the absence of challenge in his fight against evil and seeks to find a worthy opponent.

A digital manga remake of the series, illustrated by Yusuke Murata, began publication on Shueisha's Young Jump Web Comics website in 2012. The chapters are periodically collected and printed into tankōbon volumes, with sixteen volumes released as of April 4, 2018. Viz Media has licensed the remake for English serialization in its Weekly Shonen Jump digital magazine.An anime television adaptation by Madhouse aired in Japan between October and December 2015. It was dubbed in English during the summer of 2016, and later that year a planned second season was announced. On September 25, 2017, it was announced that they would be changing both its production company and director.

One Piece (Japanese: ワンピース, Hepburn: Wan Pīsu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997, and has been collected into 91 tankōbon volumes. The story follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy whose body gained the properties of rubber after unintentionally eating a Devil Fruit. With his crew of pirates, named the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy explores the Grand Line in search of the world's ultimate treasure known as "One Piece" in order to become the next Pirate King.

The manga has been adapted into an original video animation (OVA) produced by Production I.G in 1998, and an anime series produced by Toei Animation, which began broadcasting in Japan in 1999. Additionally, Toei has developed thirteen animated feature films, one OVA and thirteen television specials. Several companies have developed various types of merchandising such as a trading card game and numerous video games. The manga series was licensed for an English language release in North America and the United Kingdom by Viz Media and in Australia by Madman Entertainment. The anime series was licensed by 4Kids Entertainment for an English-language release in North America in 2004, before the license was dropped and subsequently acquired by Funimation in 2007.

One Piece has received praise for its storytelling, art, characterization, and humor. Several volumes of the manga have broken publishing records, including the highest initial print run of any book in Japan. The official website for Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga announced that the manga has set a Guinness World Record for "the most copies published for the same comic book series by a single author". As of January 2019, the manga has sold over 455 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling manga series in history. It became the best-selling manga for the eleventh consecutive year in 2018.

Sword Art Online (Japanese: ソードアート・オンライン, Hepburn: Sōdo Āto Onrain) is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the near future and focuses on protagonist Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds. Kawahara originally wrote the series as a web novel on his website from 2002 to 2008. The light novels began publication on ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint from April 10, 2009, with a spin-off series launching in October 2012. The series has spawned eight manga adaptations published by ASCII Media Works and Kadokawa. The novels and four of the manga adaptations have been licensed for release in North America by Yen Press.

An anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures, known simply as Sword Art Online, aired in Japan between July and December 2012, with a television film Sword Art Online: Extra Edition airing on December 31, 2013, and a second season, titled Sword Art Online II, airing between July and December 2014. An animated film titled Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale featuring an original story by Kawahara premiered in Japan and Southeast Asia on February 18, 2017, and was released in the United States on March 9, 2017. A spin-off anime series titled Sword Art Online Alternative Gun Gale Online premiered in April 2018, while a third season titled Sword Art Online: Alicization premiered on October 7, 2018. A live-action series will be produced by Netflix. Six video games based on the series have been released for multiple consoles.

Sword Art Online has received widespread commercial success, with the light novels having over 20 million copies sold worldwide. The anime series has received mixed to positive reviews, praised for its animation, musical score, and exploration of the psychological aspects of virtual reality, but criticized for its pacing and writing.

The Promised Neverland (Japanese: 約束のネバーランド, Hepburn: Yakusoku no Nebārando) is a Japanese manga series written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. It has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 1, 2016, with the individual chapters collected and published by Shueisha into ten tankōbon volumes as of August 2018. The story follows a group of orphaned children in their escape plan from a farm. Viz Media licensed the manga in North America and serialized The Promised Neverland in their digital Weekly Shonen Jump magazine. An anime television series adaptation by CloverWorks premiered in January 2019 in the Noitamina programming block.

The Seven Deadly Sins (Japanese: 七つの大罪, Hepburn: Nanatsu no Taizai) is a Japanese fantasy manga series written and illustrated by Nakaba Suzuki. It has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine since October 2012, with the chapters collected into thirty-one tankōbon volumes as of April 17, 2018. The manga features a setting similar to the European Middle Ages, with its titular group of knights representing the seven deadly sins.

The manga has been licensed by Kodansha USA for English publication in North America, while the chapters are released digitally by Crunchyroll in over 170 countries as they are published in Japan. As of 2018, The Seven Deadly Sins has over 28 million copies in circulation. It was adapted into a 24-episode anime television series by A-1 Pictures that aired from October 5, 2014 to March 29, 2015 in Japan. A second season aired from January 13, 2018 to June 30, 2018. An anime film was released on August 18, 2018.

Netflix acquired the exclusive English streaming rights for the anime series while Funimation currently has the home video rights.

Todd Michael Haberkorn is an American voice actor and director who has provided voices for many English-language versions of Japanese anime series, as well as cartoons and video games. While he was working in theater, he joined Funimation as a voice actor, with some minor bits in Black Cat and Peach Girl. Since then he has voiced many leading characters, including Yamato Akitsuki in Suzuka, Kimihiro Watanuki in xxxHolic, Tsukune Aono in Rosario + Vampire, Death the Kid in Soul Eater, Allen Walker in D.Gray-man, Hikaru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host Club, Natsu Dragneel in Fairy Tail and Italy in Hetalia: Axis Powers. Additionally, he has worked in Texas and California as an actor, director, producer and writer.

Yūki Kaji (梶 裕貴, Kaji Yūki, born September 3, 1985) is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with the agency VIMS. He has voiced many notable roles such as Eren Yeager in Attack on Titan, Issei Hyodo in High School DxD, Shu Ouma in Guilty Crown, Alibaba in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Kazuya Ichinose and Akio Fudou in Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuinuma Eleven, Clemont in Pokémon XY, Meliodas and Zeldris in The Seven Deadly Sins, Yukine in Noragami, Speed-O'Sound Sonic in One-Punch Man, Kanato Sakamaki in Diabolik Lovers, Todoroki Shōto in My Hero Academia and Koichi Hirose in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. He was part of the four-unit singing group G.Addict, which was part of the Goulart Knights project, and has acted as one of the main protagonists in the movie Kami Voice: The Voice Makes a Miracle. He won the Best Rookie Actor Award in the 3rd Seiyu Awards in 2009 and marked the first voice actor in Japan to win the Best Voice Actor Award two years consecutively in the 7th Seiyu Awards and 8th Seiyu Awards in 2013 and 2014. He has hosted the web radio show Yūki Kaji's Monologue (梶裕貴のひとりごと Kaji Yūki no Hitorigoto) since March 2014. His variety show Kaji100! ~The 100 things Kaji Yuki wants to do~ debuted on the Nitteleplus channel in April 2017.

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